This invention relates generally to a weatherproofing boot for mounting onto the lower end of a vertically elongated astragal which is installed onto the free side edge of a semi-active door of a double door or panel entry set or the like. The astragal boot provides an effective barrier at the lower end of the astragal for substantially preventing ingress of wind and water when the doors are closed.
A typical double door entry set for a building includes a pair of hinged doors mounted within a stationary door frame for individual swinging movement between open and closed positions. In a typical residential installation, one of the doors comprises a primary or active door intended for routine opening and closing in the course of normal ingress and egress, whereas the other door comprises a secondary or so-called semi-active door which is normally retained in a closed and locked condition. The primary door is equipped with door hardware components including door handles or other suitable actuators for operating retractable door latch and deadbolt devices which commonly engage appropriate keepers mounted on or otherwise formed within a false jamb defined by a vertically elongated astragal mounted on the adjacent free side edge or stile of the semi-active door. In turn, the semi-active door is normally equipped with locking hardware mounted at or near the free side edge thereof, generally proximate the upper and lower ends of the free side edge, such as retractable slide bolts for engaging appropriate keepers mounted respectively on the door header and threshold. These slide bolts are normally advanced to a locked position engaging their respective keepers to retain the semi-active door normally in the closed and locked condition. However, when and if desired, these slide bolts can be retracted for disengagement from their respective keepers to unlock the semi-active door and permit opening thereof. In a common design, actuators for these slide bolts are accessibly exposed at the free side edge of the semi-active door only when the primary door is open. One preferred slide bolt configuration is shown and described in copending U.S. Ser. No. 09/668,530, filed Sep. 21, 2000, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The double door set commonly includes weatherstripping to minimize entry of wind-blown dirt and water past the peripheral edges of the closed doors into the building interior. In a typical configuration, an elongated strip of flexible or compliant weatherproofing material is fastened onto the stationary vertical side jambs and the horizontal header of the door frame for contact by the hinged side and the top edges of the two doors in the closed position. An additional strip of similar weatherproofing material is often fastened onto the astragal for contact by the free side edge of the active door in the closed position. Further strips of flexible or compliant weatherproofing material are normally attached to the bottom edge of each door for engaging the underlying threshold when the doors are closed. These weatherproofing strips are designed to fill any gaps between the peripheral edges of the two doors when closed and the adjoining door frame and threshold, to resist wind and water penetration into the building. However, the weatherproofing strips at the door bottom edges are interrupted or spaced apart by the astragal, when both doors are in the closed position, resulting in an unfilled and open gap at the astragal lower end through which dirt and water can pass into the building. To date, an effective weatherproofing system or weatherstrip mounting arrangement at the astragal lower end has not been provided.
There exists, therefore, a need for further improvements in and to double door or double panel sets of the type having an astragal mounted at the free side edge of a semi-active door or panel, wherein the lower end of the astragal is effectively weatherproofed to close any gap at that location through which wind-blown dirt and water could otherwise enter the building. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.